Visit to Lujan

On Thursday we visited Lujan. This was not just a visit to another city in the area not was it a stop on the tourist itinerary. Rather Lujan is a special place because it has a statue of the Virgin Mary that has been venerated by the people of

this area and this nation since the early 1600's. 

The story goes that the statue had been ordered for another area, but that when it got to this region, the oxen pulling the cart refused to move. Only when the statue was taken off the wagon, would the oxen proceed. Taking that as a sign that the Virgin wanted to stay here, the people made a small church, later moving it to Lujan itself, where it has remained to this day.  

The current church was based in design on Notre Dame in Paris and is a splendid building with the statue of Mary high above the altar. The Virgin of Lujan is strongly venerated in this country because she is named as the Patroness of the nation as well as the countries of Uruguay and Paraguay. As a result you will statues of the Virgin of Lujan just about everywhere you go. 

The Basilica of Lujan

A copy of the statue. 

In 1886 Pope Leo XIII honored the shrine with a Papal coronation and a special crown was made for the statue. It is really quite elaborate and it is pictured here with a description you can read if you wish. 

And finally we toured the crypt of the church. There could be found statues of Mary from dozens and dozens of countries theoughout the  world. These nations have sent versions of their own images of Mary and each one has a separate space with the name of the nation and sometimes it's flag. It was fascinating to see so many different depictions of Mary. 

A great trip and a fascinating experience.